“Well that really puts things in perspective!”
I don’t know how many times I have heard or used that little sentence. Recent variations on that theme make reference to “first world problems.” The message seems to be that, if you think a little bit about someone else’s worse situation, you will realize that your issues are fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
For example, much of my time, energy, and focus over the past few weeks has been given to preparing for the launch of my new book. I’ve posted to social media, sent out emails and actual—gasp—paper letters in envelopes with stamps! I’ve been trying to get it into the hands of as many people as possible because I believe it could bless their lives and strengthen their churches. At the time I am writing this, it has been downloaded 1181 times from Amazon over a 10 day time period.
While this has been going on in my world, I have some friends whose early-40’s daughter-in-law is battling cancer. She is having surgery today as I write this. Another 18 year old son of friends has been in the hospital since June 9. He had a 20 hour heart surgery that day, had to have additional heart surgery a few days later, and also had to to have brain surgery because he developed a brain bleed. Another family I know stood by and watched their 21 year old son sentenced to a year in jail.
With that perspective, why in the world would I think my little old book means anything at all? Because it does. We need to be really sure that “putting things in perspective” doesn’t cause us to lose perspective.
We need to be sure that “putting things in perspective” doesn’t cause us to lose perspective. Click To Tweet
Here’s what I believe about perspective:
1. My focus on something that matters to me doesn’t in any way diminish something else that is deserving of focus. It’s not a competition.
2. My focus on something that matters to me should not make me feel guilty that someone else is in a worse situation. It should make me want to make the very best use of what I have to positively impact as many situations as possible.
3. None of us deserves our greatest successes or our most devastating challenges. What happens to us is not nearly as important as how we choose to respond to what happens to us.
4. The world doesn’t revolve around me or anyone else, but we all have a place in God’s plan for what He wants to do in the world.
5. Our lives—every moment, every success, every failure, every blessing, every disappointment, every hurt, every tear, every chuckle, every grief, every celebration—matter to God. He is, in the words of a song, “too wise to be mistaken … to good to be unkind.”
The song goes on to say, “When you don’t understand, when you don’t see His plan, when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.*
That, my friends, is the power of perspective.
